You realise that a trip becomes memorable only when you walk around the place, take the local transport, eat the local food and interact with the locals. So, we hopped into a shared taxi (Rs 10) to Darjeeling town and were greeted with friendly smiles.

Shared taxis are really the best and most cost effective way to move around the place. Just get off at the beginning of the mall road, where you will find lots of eateries, shops, Internet cafes, etc.

A visit to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute is a must to get the feel of how man has battled the mighty peaks, and triumphed.

The zoo, right next to the institute, too should not be missed if you want to see some rare species: Tibetan wolves, snow leopards, musk deer, Siberian tigers, most of which are bred in captivity.

After shooting more pictures of the Kanchenjunga peak as seen from Gangtok, set out for Nathula pass, on the India-China border. The sight of the snow-capped mountains along the way was out of this world.

On such a visit, one cannot help but marvel at the Border Roads Organisation, whose efforts enable us to go to these remote, beautiful places.

There was a lot of snow on the way, to play with, and no one could resist. We also got the most amazing view of the Changu lake, the waters sparkling blue in the mild sunshine. It usually freezes by the end of December.

The India-China border is just a barbed-wire fence, with two Chinese soldiers on the other side. It was rather funny to see our Indian tourists treating them as if they were specimens in a zoo, and reaching out to touch them and shake their hand. We did the same, but it was funny nonetheless.